Orland Park Village Board approves plans for Amazon's first physical megastore

ORLAND PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- This is a brand-new concept for Amazon, which already owns hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores, including Whole Foods, nationwide.

Monday night's vote sealed the deal on what will be the company's first physical megastore nationwide. But some in the community still have doubts.

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Sitting at the corner of 159th Street and La Grange Road, at the site of what was once Orland Park's Petey's II restaurant, is a 35-acre bean field that will soon become Amazon's first-of-a-kind big box store, integrating in-store technology to the shopping experience.

"It helps cement Orland Park as a go-to place for retail, and it has a lot of benefits for our communities in terms of revenue," said Orland Park Mayor James Dodge.

Renderings of the development show what the eventual 229,000-square-foot store will look like. According to the proposal submitted, it includes dining options as well as retail. What it will not be, says Dodge said, is a warehouse or fulfillment center.

"When you say 'Amazon,' they assume it's a 3 million-square-foot building with four stories and 100 truck bays. That's not what this is. This is a large store," Dodge said.

The scope of the project is the biggest question mark attached to the project so far. And so, even as the village's board voted 5-2 to approve the proposal, voices of opposition continued to be heard from those who worry too much remains unanswered.

"The whole process has been shrouded in secrecy, and there has been a complete lack of transparency," said Orland Park resident Richard Bonnevier.

"This project is being rushed forward with only about two weeks' notice to residents," said Joseph Solek, another Orland Park resident. "This proposal is a prototype... if it fails, there is no redo."

"Show me the numbers. Show me the details of the internals. And if you haven't seen it, shame on you," said Carol Mcgury, who is also an Orland Park resident.

Amazon was required to conduct traffic studies, which the village says have been reviewed by them, as well as the Illinois Department of Transportation. As a result, traffic restrictions on trucks and semis will be implemented. A road extension, as well as a new traffic signal, are among the accommodations being planned.

Amazon said they hope to break ground on the site as early as April, with completion expected within two years.